After another successful title defense, Bellator featherweight champion Patricio Freire eyes big things for 2019.
Earlier this month, Patricio “Pitbull” Freire successfully defended his Bellator MMA featherweight belt with an entertaining but grueling unanimous decision over Emmanuel Sanchez at Bellator 209 in Israel. It’s his second title defense since winning the belt back from Daniel Straus in April 2017, and fourth overall through two reigns.
The 31-year-old spoke to Bloody Elbow about the Sanchez win and how it compared with his other title defenses in terms of toughest title fights in his career, and he believes it’s among his most challenging, especially given his post-fight diagnosis.
“This one [vs. Sanchez], the two fights against [Pat] Curran and the second one against [Daniel] Straus were fights I had to do more than my maximum,” Freire said. “You may question the second Curran fight, but as I have mentioned in the past, I shouldn’t even have made it to the cage. Everyone that had been with me was surprised at how I performed.
“On this last fight, for some reason that we have yet to find out, my body ran out of energy reserves and started to consume muscle. At the end of the first round I was already feeling something wasn’t normal with my body. I was diagnosed with Rhabdomyolysis later. I literally went beyond my limits to have energy to keep fighting.”
Freire (28-4) has expressed prior interest in a dream matchup with former UFC champion and MMA legend Jose Aldo, but if that doesn’t materialize, he’s in pursuit of the UFC featherweight champion next year, whether that be Max Holloway or Brian Ortega.
“I would like to fight the UFC champion and unify the belts,” Patricio said.
“Aside from that, any featherweights people think are better than me, I hope Bellator can bring me some of those for 2019,” he added.
Unfortunately, the idea of “unifying UFC and Bellator titles” essentially involves one fighter crossing over to the other promotion, and usually that means exclusivity to that promotion. Within the Bellator MMA roster, perhaps rising undefeated star A.J. McKee could be next for Pitbull, who has been one of Bellator’s top names over the years since he debuted in 2010.
Freire’s last two fights have been overseas in Italy and Israel, meaning they were tape-delayed in North America. He explained why he’s been booked outside North America, and also echoes the thoughts of fans who are unhappy with Viacom’s tape-delay practice.
“Bellator had told me they needed big fights to grow on those markets and that I would be the perfect fit due to my name and the way I fight,” Freire said. “So they’re saying I have a big value for them. I liked these experiences, but certainly there are things that must be improved. To start, no more tape delays. Have Paramount or DAZN air it live and do a rerun on the usual time.
“That said, I’m looking at a bigger push in 2019 and at least 3 fights. I’m looking forward to headline a tent pole event on my next fight.”
Circling back to the UFC featherweight championship, Max Holloway is set to defend his belt against Brian Ortega in the UFC 231 main event on December 8th. It is a highly-anticipated showdown that is destined to deliver tremendous action. While Freire didn’t predict a winner, he sees this as an evenly matched bout.
“I believe it’s 50-50,” he said. “Both are great fighters. Holloway is better on the feet and a more well-rounded skillset. After seeing Ortega struggle against Swanson I don’t see him getting the best of Holloway standing. But Ortega has a better ground game and excellent finishing skills. Until the fight is over, no matter what’s been happening, he’s still a threat.
“We have to factor Holloway’s recent health issues. Is he really okay? Ortega has been more active and healthy. He’s very confident. It’ll be an interesting fight to watch and I’ll be looking forward to it.”